News Briefing and Comment

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On Panorama recently, senior judges warned that cuts to legal aid have undermined the principle of equal access to the law. There are other worrying signs that cuts, increased fees and outsourcing are undermining the values essential to any decent system of justice. As we approach the anniversary of Magna Carta, are the principles it represents being abandoned?

On 2 April the Learning Disability Alliance is holding a citizen’s jury, where its members – people with learning disabilities and their supporters – will be quizzing members of political parties about their policies.

Today, (27 May 2015) Conservative Campaign Headquarters sent out an email to supporters. It began, "Do you think the last Labour government spent too much?" and continued, "The Labour government that literally left a note saying 'There's no money left'." The problem is, this is not true.

Yesterday (26 March 2015) was the last full session in the House of Commons before the General Eection period starts. Most such days go unmarked, but the grubby politics that surrounded the decision to change the rules on Speaker elections are likely to be remembered for a long time to come.

The Simon Barrow Column

We have suddenly become a world that talks about inequality. That's certainly better than not talking about it. But waxing lyrical about a concern and doing something about it are not the same thing, says Simon Barrow, pointing to the deeper issues calling for action.

Academics and church leaders are among those mourning the loss of Edward Farley, a scholar and writer of "constructive theology", who died at the end of last year (2014) at the age of 85. Simon Barrow looks at his legacy and significance for practical and applied theology.

Has the usual seasonal avalanche of "they're trying to ban Christmas!" stories abated somewhat, at least in Britain? Simon Barrow looks at the evidence and asks what it says to us about the church and Christianity in an emerging post-Chrstendom era.

The Jonathan Bartley Column

This is a time to be both politically and practically subversive in the face of a growing political consensus that is hurting the most vulnerable, says Jonathan Bartley. All of the main parties in the UK, including Labour, support the cut in housing benefit. Labour has said that it would not reverse it - or, indeed, most of the other welfare reforms - should it gain power at the next election. In the face of such a negative consensus, new social housing could become a central weapon in the Churches' fight to protect the poorest.

Theologian Tryon Edwards has suggested right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past. In that sense, says Jonathan Bartley, true apologies are yet to be forthcoming in many areas of public life today.

The competitive nature of the top-down, corporate capitalist system means we can never truly be 'all in this together', says Jonathan Bartley. All we do is sacrifice the most vulnerable for the sake of maintaining an unjust order. Economic alternatives are essential, and go well beyond statism.

Features

Today (13 March 2015) 26 senior figures from various faith groups published a letter in The Times newspaper calling on the UK government to join with others “to develop a robust plan of action that will lead us to a world free of nuclear weapons”. Steve Hucklesby, Policy Adviser for the Joint Public Issues Team of the Free Churches, provides the background to this initiative.

The managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine recently went to Damascus, where he interviewed President Bashar al-Assad. Ekklesia associate and regional expert Dr Harry Hagopian assesses where the president stands in the tragic and bloody mess that exists in Syria at the moment, where ordinary people are caught between competing barbarisms.